The Straits Times Blogs - Elizabeth Looi

As long as it tastes good

2009-10-02T09:44:00Z

Elizabeth Looi says taste is more important than heritage listings.

IN KUALA LUMPUR

IT'S all about food at the moment. When Malaysia first talked about claiming ownership on certain local dishes, many people were upset while chefs and food experts felt that such a move was uncalled for.

And now, the food fight seems to be coming from the hawkers in Penang — the food capital of Malaysia.

They are disappointed that some famous Penang food such as assam laksa and nasi kandar are not listed on the government's National Heritage website.

The website displays 100 types of heritage food and drinks.

Assam laksa seller Ang Kar Seong, 60, told The Star that Penang assam laksa is special because of its fish and tamarind-based soup.

Mr Ang has been selling laksa for the past 50 years, and his stall is extremely popular among locals and tourists.

Even I can clearly remember the location of his stall. It is at the corner of the T-junction that leads to the old Air Itam wet market. Tourists can’t miss it when they are on their way to visit the famous Kek Lok Si temple.

Another hawker also complained that Penang curry mee, better known as curry laksa in Klang Valley, is not listed on the website.

Not on the list: An old lady preparing a bowl of Penang curry mee that has
coagulated pig's blood, cockles and tofu pok (fried beancurd).
PHOTO: Elizabeth Looi

But does it really matter whether a certain type of food is listed as being a heritage dish? And who can tell for sure that all the listed heritage dishes and drinks are really good?

I doubt assam laksa or curry mee will be less famous merely because it is not listed on the national heritage list.

Let's just eat and be merry. I'm off for a nice bowl of prawn mee right now.

Some more great food that's not on the national heritage list:

Deep fried Chinese doughnut with sesame (hua chee) is not
listed as heritage food but it sure tastes good when you dip it in
black coffee for breakfast. PHOTO: Elizabeth Looi

Nevermind if hum chee peng or savoury pancake is not considered
as heritage food, it continues to be a favourite among the locals.
PHOTO: Elizabeth Looi

15 special short films

2009-08-22T22:00:00Z

Elizabeth Looi raves about the 15Malaysia special project.

I REMEMBER when I was 16 (yes, a long time ago!), I attended to a lost American tourist who somehow ended up in my neighbourhood - a highly unlikely tourist spot.

As I was talking to the man, my mother was shouting in Hokkien from inside the house, asking me to be careful of the stranger.

I had to shout back to explain the situation in Hokkien, and kept referring to the guy as "ang moh" (white man).

I'm sure the man knew we were talking about him. He looked embarrassed.

Fast forward to a few days ago, I felt a sense of deja vu when I saw the short Malaysian-made short film Chocolate, which has been receiving rave reviews.

In the clip, the mother of the Chinese boy was shouting at him in Mandarin when he attended to a Malay girl in the grocery shop.

But I'm sure many viewers who had seen Chocolate felt the same way too - listening to shouting by one's mom while keeping your eyes on another matter.

It's such a common situation that almost everyone had experienced.

The film is part of short films made in conjuction with Malaysia's National Day at the end of this month.

That's what makes Chocolate and 14 other short films in 15Malaysia special. They explore local themes that touch on socio-political issues, which everyone can relate to.

The project is a compilation of 15 short films by 15 independent filmmakers and produced by award-winning producer Pete Teo.

The films are in various languages, mostly in local dialect if the story was based on a particular ethnic group. All the videos have subtitles.

Mr Teo is releasing one video every two or three days on www.15malaysia.com.

When the first film Potong Saga was released on Aug 17, there were 15,000 downloads by the next day.

Two more videos - Chocolate and The Tree - have been released after that. As of now, 72,096 videos have been downloaded so far.

As I am writing this, the number keeps increasing. About 200 videos were downloaded just minutes ago.

Those who are impatient have logged on to YouTube to watch the trailers of all the films.

The project is also popular because the films feature prominent personalities such as Parti Islam SeMalaysia spiritual leader Nik

Aziz Nik Mat, former law minister Zaid Ibrahim and famous Malaysian model Amber Chia - the face of Guess model search.

Some of the funny ones are Meter - where Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin acted as a taxi driver - and Potong Saga, where controversial rapper Wee Meng Chee was told to "potong" (circumcise) before he could open a savings account in an Islamic bank.

The next video, House, will be released on Aug 24.

So go on, see it for yourself.

Log on to the website and download some of the videos. Or visit youtube.

I'm sure you'll be able to relate to some of the stories too.

Enjoy!

To close or not to close?

2009-06-23T22:30:00Z

Elizabeth Looi says M'sians are torn about closing schools for H1N1 reasons.

IN KUALA LUMPUR

FOUR schools in Malaysia have been told to close for a week after several students were found infected with the H1N1 virus, but not everyone it seems, is unduly worried about the health alert.

The virus took exactly a month to spread in Malaysia, hitting 69 cases on Tuesday — of which nine were locally transmitted.

The four schools ordered shut in the Klang Valley — one in Kuala Lumpur and three in Selangor — included an international school. The Health Ministry is not taking any chances in an outbreak occuring.

Besides conducting the mandatory thermal screenings at all entry points, the ministry also advised students who recently returned from United Kingdom, United States, Australia and the Phillippines to quarantine themselves at home for a week. Those who want to enter the country will also have to declare their health status.

And the newspapers have been playing up this issue with page 1 stories over the last few days.

Still, those staying outside Selangor and Klang Valley feel that the influenza pandemic has not reached a serious stage.

"I don't see anyone walking around with a surgical mask in public and people are still travelling.

"The only precaution that we probably take is to avoid visiting the affected places or people," Alisha Kaur, a teacher in Penang, told The Straits Times.

But Miss Kaur feels that Malaysians should not be allowed to travel to affected countries. "This could reduce the chances of transmitting the virus," she added.

The locals in Selangor hoped the government would do more to prevent the virus from spreading, as most of the cases are there.

"The Health Ministry and Education Ministry should work together to prevent the flu from spreading in schools. It would be better if they close all schools in the Klang Valley for now," said salesman James Devan.

"The government should take steps to vaccinate the public as soon as it becomes available or to administer some sort of medication to deal with the flu symptoms," said another local, Mr Leo Goh.

"They shouldn't have to wait till someone dies," the businessman added.

Ironically, some local folks were angry when schools took the necessary preventive measures.

The New Straits Times reported that a father in Shah Alam, Selangor was upset when a high school sent his son home when the school learned that the family had gone for an overseas trip during the school holidays.

The school had closed one of its classes for a week when a student was found positive with the virus.

"Our family just came back from performing umrah (pilgrimage) in Mecca two days ago and we passed the health screenings at the airport.

"Why is the school jumping on this? My son was told to stay at home although he has a clean bill of health," Mr Zawawi Shamroz told the newspaper.

His son was among 15 students who were ordered to go home although they were not in the same class as the infected student.

Mr Zawawi was also furious with the student's family for visiting the US.

"They should have known which countries are affected with the virus but they simply went for vacation."

Like it or not, there should be more vigilance about the virus as the flu is not likely to stop spreading anytime soon.

Rescuing stray dogs from Hell Island

2009-05-27T07:44:00Z

Elizabeth Looi tracks the ongoing effort in Klang to save abandoned strays.

INHUMANE, atrocious and barbarous!

These are merely some of the words that can describe the cruel act of a community in Klang that had abandoned 400 stray dogs on a mangrove island to starve to death.

The dogs were trapped in cages last month, and with the help of the local council, they were shipped to an island that is almost impossible for any living thing to survive except poisonous snakes.

The Klang Municipal Council (MPK) paid the Pulau Ketam villagers for trapping the dogs according to sizes - RM10 for a big dog, RM8 for a medium-sized dog and RM5 for a small dog.

Pulau Ketam is a century-old fisherman's village near Port Klang, which is popular for its seafood restaurants.

The residents had complained about the growing number of stray dogs in their village and had asked the councillors to get rid of the dogs.

They felt that it was better to leave the dogs in a mangrove swamp in the middle of the sea to survive, rather than allowing the local council to put the dogs to sleep.

But thanks to a group of volunteers led blogger Terrence V Smith, better known as TV Smith, and animal-lover Sabrina Yeap, 28 dogs are now (as of May 25) resting safely in Miss Yeap's pet rescue shelter, Furry Friends Farm (FFF).

A good Samaritan had also offered to sponsor proper boats for them to travel to the island every day.

"We thank everyone who had donated to our rescue mission but we do not need money to hire boats for the mission anymore. Someone is willing to sponsor boats for us. It's wonderful news!" one of the volunteers, Miss Zalina, told me.

Things seem to look brighter for Mr Smith and his friends, as more volunteers including veterinarians came forward to join the mission.

Some of them are also camping around the island, Pulau Tengah, which they dubbed "hell island", to wait for more dogs to come out from the thick mangroves. According to Mr Smith, who updates his blog every day, most of the canines are still terrified of humans after they were trapped and dumped on the island.

When the volunteers first got there, some of the dogs had flesh-eating maggots infesting on their wounds, and most of them were scrawny.

They also suspected that the dogs could have survived on the carcasses of those who died of starvation and diseases.

"Disease is a real issue, particularly since the dogs were presumably randomly picked up and transferred to the island, because they will be weak and immune suppressed, and because they will have had close contact with each other and with the carcasses of those which have died.

"There will be a good chance that distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis or parvovirus may be circulating among them," wrote Mr Smith.

Miss Zalina told me they will continue their work until at least 75 per cent of the dogs are rescued.

This heart-wrenching story had not only grabbed the international media's attention, but it also drew criticisms against the community.

Visitors to the island's official website left 16 messages on the guestbook, asking the villagers to stop their cruel act.

On a personal note, I do not think blaming the Pulau Ketam community will solve the problem. And even if all the dogs are rescued, the villagers will still face the problem of an over population of stray dogs.

The root of the problem lies in the lack of education on the importance of spaying and neutering their pets, as well as lack of enforcement and punishment against animal cruelty.

In Malaysia, one of the laws that prohibits animal cruelty is the Animals Act 1953 that was revised in 2006.

Section 44 of the Act stipulates that it is an offence to beat, kick, ill-treat, override, overdrive, overload, torture, infurate or terrify any animal, and the offender is liable to a fine of RM200 or to imprisonment of six months or both.

Clearly, such penalty is insufficient to prevent animal cruelty. The villagers probably did not realise that it was wrong to leave the animals to starve to death. After all, the local government was assisting them.

Pulau Ketam village head Cha Keng Lee had reportedly said they only trapped 400 out of 2,000 dogs in the village, and the abandoned dogs could survive on fish, crabs, lizards, snakes and wild boar on the island.

It was evident that they did know of any other ways to get rid of the dogs, as it was not the first time for them to ship the dogs to another island.

MPK councillor in charge of Pulau Ketam Tee Beng Lee told The Star that residents had in the past caught and sent dogs to another island that was nearer to Pulau Ketam.

“But the dogs kept swimming back and that is why they are being sent to an island which is quite a distance from Pulau Ketam,’’ he said.

For those who would like to follow the developments of the dog rescue mission, go to Mr Smith's page at http://www.mycen.com.my/rescue/updates.html.

Not spreading locally

2009-05-18T10:43:00Z

Elizabeth Looi says there is good news on the H1N1 flu front in Malaysia.

IN KUALA LUMPUR

MALAYSIA has experienced three major outbreaks in recent years - Nipah virus, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Avian flu.

Yet, the two recently confirmed cases of H1N1 (swine) flu virus have yet to trigger panic in the country.

Many people are still walking around the city of Kuala Lumpur without covering their faces although pharmacies have started selling masks on their counters.

The two victims in Selangor and Penang are university students who had returned from the United States. Both were admitted in the Sungai Buloh Hospital in Selangor and the Penang Hospital respectively.

Their condition is reported to be stable.

The Health Ministry is currently asking fellow air passengers of the two friends, to report to the ministry, including those who travelled with one of them on an AirAsia flight from KL to Penang.

So far, 37 passengers from the same flight are under home quarantine while the ministry is still tracking 69 other passengers.

The ministry has been advising the public to avoid visiting affected countries.

Even though there is no mad scramble for safety measures, locals have taken some precautions of their own to reduce the chances of contracting the deadly disease.

In Penang, some people have started wearing face masks. A relative in Penang told me that she decided not to visit a friend in Penang Hospital as the flu victim is being treated there.

“Although there are only two cases in Malaysia, it is better if we try to stay away from the affected premises. I’ll visit my friend in her house after she is discharged,” she said.

Workers in both Sungai Buloh Hospital and Penang Hospital however are wearing face masks and gloves.

The Health Ministry is now pushing for the World Health Organisation to make it mandatory for all countries to conduct screenings at exit points.

The ministry today announced that Malaysia could be declared free of local transmission of the virus in two days if no local cases were detected.

Deputy Health director-general Dr Ramlee Rahmat said this was based on the calculation on the virus’ incubation period, which is seven days from May 13 when the first case was detected in Malaysia.

“So far there are no signs of the virus spreading locally. After May 20, we can declare that Malaysia is free of local transmission of the virus,” he said.

That comes as good news indeed.

Disabled's woes never end

2009-04-27T07:08:00Z

Elizabeth Looi is stunned that having a television is considered a luxury.

IN KUALA LUMPUR

THE WOES of the disabled community never seems to end.

As if finding a job was not difficult enough, traveling to work or even for simple chores is not easy.

There are not many disabled-friendly facilities in this country. Besides, for those who do not drive, only a limited number of public buses have facilities for wheelchairs.

Now, to add to their woes is a recent announcement by the none other than the Welfare Department.

The New Straits Times recently highlighted that the department has cancelled welfare aid for those who own television sets at home or subscribe to Astro satellite television.

People who live with those who subscribe to these facilities will also find themselves at the receiving end.

The reason?

Well. According to Shahrizat Jalil, the Women, Family and Community Development Minister: "The underlying principle for welfare aid to the poor and needy is to ensure that their basic needs, such as food, clothing and shelter, are met.

"As such, the ruling on Astro is applicable because it gives an indication of the affordability of the applicant to spend on something extra, in this case entertainment," Ms Shahrizat, who is in charge of welfare, said.

She explained that the ruling only applied to those under the Disabled Persons Unable to Work scheme, who were being given RM150 per month in aid.

She said Astro was considered a monthly expense that would reduce welfare aid being used for basic needs.

The ruling however does not affect the other two welfare schemes for disabled workers and people caring for a bedridden disabled person, who receive RM300 a month.

The issue came into focus after 73-year-old S Karupanan told the newspaper that he was no longer getting his welfare aid because he was staying with his daughter who has television and Astro service at home. Welfare officers who visited him immediately withdrew the aid when they noticed the little luxury.

Another extreme case was K Shanmugam, 51, who had been applying for the welfare since 2005 but his application was rejected when he confessed to having a television set and Astro facilities at home.

"That's the first question they asked. When I said I had both, they immediately said that I was not eligible for assistance as there were others poorer than me," he said.

But to calm all quarters, Ms Shahrizat promised to review the ruling and introduce more realistic criteria for dispensing aid. She told reporters that a television, a refrigerator and subscribing to an Astro service could no longer be considered luxury items.

"Even a car is no longer a luxury as it has become a necessity now. The system we intend to introduce will be more effective and realistic and reach our target group without giving them a hard time," she said.

She also said she would speak to Astro to provide free services to the disabled as part of the company's corporate social responsibility.

She explained that she understood that most bedridden or paralysed patients have nothing to do but stare at empty walls.

Currently, there are 28,608 disabled people registered with the ministry. Nobody understands why the disabled be denied the right to some entertainment at home.

And Mr Shanmugam's case proves that the ruling has been in place since 2005.

Ms Shahrizat, too, is not new to the ministry. She was the minister from 2001 until she lost her parliamentary seat in the March 8 polls last year.

But she was re-appointed as the minister when new Prime Minister Najib Razak took office earlier this month.

Let's hope that Ms Shahrizat will improve the ministry and ensure that her departments are pro-active.

Otherwise what is the point of having a Welfare Department, if it continues to act on knee-jerk basis, such as this recently highlighted case.

Election takes off

2009-04-06T08:29:00Z

Elizabeth Looi is overcome by symbols and bunting in Bukit Selambau.

IN BUKIT SELAMBAU, MALAYSIA

COCONUT tree, keys, chair. Tiger, clock, bicycle, umbrella. You name it, they've got it!

These are just some of the various symbols used by the 13 independent candidates in the Bukit Selambau by-election in Kedah state of Malaysia. Other symbols include a book, a rooster, a school bus, a fish, a telephone and an aeroplane.

There are 15 candidates vying for votes of the nearly 35,000 voters for this state constituency seat. Two other candidates are from ruling coalition Barisan Nasional and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).

The sheer number of candidates made history here, as never before had so many candidates contested for a single seat in an election in Malaysia. The colourful election campaign posters, buntings, streamers and banners have made this sleepy town come alive.

Most of the posters and buntings have been put up at prominent places especially at traffic lights, road junctions, cross junctions and outside the candidates' operation centres.

Voters do not seem to mind that they have so many candidates to choose from. In fact, they find it amusing.

"Look at that aeroplane symbol. Don't think it will fly very far. It is only a Fokker, it is not like big Malaysia Airlines planes," my taxi driver said with a laugh.

But the candidates and parties involved are worried that voters may be confused with so many symbols.

"There are so many symbols. The voters may just be confused and put a cross in the wrong column. We're also worried that the officers separating the ballot papers may have a headache.

"Just imagine, they will have 13 boxes in front of them to separate the ballot papers," PKR Kapar lawmaker S Manikavasagam, who had been campaigning for the PKR candidate, told The Straits Times.

Contrary to my taxi driver's remark, Mr T Chandrarajan - the candidate with the aeroplane symbol - is in fact the most popular independent. Posters depicting him are the biggest and most conspicuous here. Rumours are that he will be able to at least garner some votes although he may not have a chance to win.

Another “most-talked-about” independent candidate is L Sarala - the only woman candidate among the lot. To live up to her bicycle symbol, she cycles around residential areas to distribute leaflets and talk to the residents.

Despite the sheer number of candidates, everyone knows the actual race is between PKR and BN. The independent candidates are unlikely to make any significant dent.

And whether by coincidence or by choice, the PKR and BN candidates have got interesting ranks in the ballot list. Mr S Manikumar - the PKR candidate - is ranked candidate number four, the number which stands for death in Chinese. Mr S Ganesan from BN is number eight, which means prosperity in Chinese.

"It's just something we noticed. The numbers will definitely not be a factor in swinging votes but it's funny though that PKR gets number 4, the unlucky number for Chinese," a voter said.

However, when the Elecetion Commission released the ballot papers on Monday, the numbers were conspicuous by their absence. Now the ballot papers hold only the symbols of the candidates.

The Bukit Selambau state seat fell vacant following the resignation of PKR's V Arumugam on allegations of bigamy and morality issues.

Tueday's votes will determine which candidate finally takes off, and which is grounded.

Democracy has its limits

2009-03-20T07:00:00Z

Elizabeth Looi discusses the first use of cyber law in Malaysia.

IN KUALA LUMPUR

EIGHT people have been arrested so far but only one has pleaded guilty.

All of them were hauled to court last week for condemning the Perak ruler, Sultan Azlan Shah, online. They were charged under a cyber law for irresponsible and offensive comments.

They were alleged to have posted insulting comments on the Sultan's website. They apparently blamed the Sultan for not making a wise decision when tackling the political situation in Perak.

Sultan Azlan Shah had asked Pakatan Rakyat to back down and let Barisan Nasional take over the silver state instead of dissolving the state assembly and allowing fresh polls.

Many people were unhappy with his decision but some went a little too far when they ALLEGEDLY hurled insults at the monarch ON THE WEBSITE.

This is the first time ever for anyone to be charged under the cyber law, the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. But the charge was quite an awakening for Malaysians.

It shocked some very prominent bloggers. They didn't think that the government would have gone after ordinary Malaysians. They thought the cyber cops were only investigating them all this while.
Some people felt the eight deserved to be charged and thrown behind bars for not respecting the Sultan. They said this should be a lesson for online users to be careful with what they write on public forums.

A reader known only as Truth Seeking Citizen, who commented on the popular Rocky's Bru blog, called for Malaysians to wake up and read blogs with a pinch of salt.

"Use your wisdom to make your own decision. Blind support or following at your own peril! We need a better Malaysia, the blogsphere has in recent months been adulterated with lies and false allegations without any substantive evidence. It is also unfortunate that many who seek to reform, better governance, accountability and integrity has fallen into the trap of this cult of blind support," the reader said.

But of course, there are some who disagreed with the arrest and slammed the government for setting a precedent for online censorship.

Non-governmental organisations Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) and the Writers Alliance for Media Independence (WAMI) were worried that it could "be the start of a clampdown on online expression and the erosion of the right to discuss the role of the Malaysian royal families".

"It goes against Malaysia's commitment of no internet censorship legislated in section 3(3) of CMA and in the Multimedia Bill of Guarantees.

"The violation of the promise is a sign that the government, at the brink of the impending change in prime minister-ship, is getting more authoritarian," said Wami chairperson Wong Chin Huat and CIJ executive director V. Gayanthry in a statement.

They also took it as a move to further silence and spread fear among the public.

There are also some blog readers who suggested that all bloggers to unite and collect funds to help out with the legal fees for the seven of them who claimed trial.

But at the end of the day, I think it is safe to say that no one should abuse freedom of speech.

As an anonymous blog reader says: "Democracy has its limits. So does freedom. It does not mean that democracy allows one to fornicate in public or to commit suicide. Neither does it give one the right to destroy careers of others.

"In brief, do things reasonably and logically. Don't expect dignitaries to take things sitting down. When a tiger is pushed to the wall, it will naturally pounce back."

No longer spoilt for choice

2009-01-09T22:00:00Z

Elizabeth Looi explains why graduates' dream jobs may no longer be out there.

In Kuala Lumpur

YOUNG graduates in Malaysia often lament about the difficulties they face in looking for a job - even when the economy was booming.

But there's usually a common reason for their complaints - they can't get the job that is within their field of studies.

This will become a more frequent thing for graduates, now that there is a global economic crisis.

Although there are some who are willing to take up jobs that involve skills outside their degrees, there are also those who are determined to get the ideal job.

With the current situation heading towards an economic downturn in the country, degree holders must be quick to see that they must no longer be choosy when applying for jobs.

Foreign wire services AFP recently reported that a scientist with a doctorate in physics in Seoul, South Korea, was forced to apply for a job as a road sweeper because of the rising unemployment.

The report also said that the 36-year-old scientist was among 63 people who applied for the job - of whom 11 were university graduates.

Such an example should be a wake-up call to all local and overseas graduates. Perhaps it is time for those who think that graduates deserve only "higher-class" jobs, to drop such a mentality.